The control towers were set to close in June
because of budget cuts. The HagerstownRegionalAirport director says he's glad lawmakers passed
this legislation, but it's only part of an ongoing struggle during the
sequester.

Officials say
flights would have continued taking off, but safety would be an issue.

"We appreciate the fact that
they understand it's important to keep our tower open and they're doing
everything they can to help us with that," says Airport Director Phil
Ridenour.

Congress gave the Department of Transportation
authority to shift $253 million to prevent the controller furloughs and
keep the towers open.

The legislation prevents the
towers from closing this fiscal year, meaning only up until September 30, 2013.

"We're glad they keyed on the
tower program and keeping the furloughed employees back in the towers,"
says Ridenour. "But the big fix to this is ending sequestration
because when we get to the end of the federal fiscal year we may have this to
deal with again."